Kyocera announces the DuraForce Pro with a built-in action camera

Today Kyocera has announced its latest Android smartphone, and like all of the company’s recent devices this too is rugged. It’s called DuraForce Pro, and its main selling point (aside from the ruggedness) is that it’s got a built-in action camera.

This sits on the back of the phone alongside its 13 MP main unit. The action cam has a super wide 135-degree field of view and records video in 1080p Full HD. It has its own image processor which lets you select from a few different shooting modes, including underwater, sports, slow-mo, and time lapse.

To make it compete even better with the GoPros of the world, Kyocera will release a special case for the DuraForce Pro which will make it compatible with “popular action camera mounts”. Obviously Kyocera thinks you’re better off purchasing a DuraForce Pro instead of a GoPro, and one of the reasons is clear – this is also a smartphone.

But it’s also very rugged, and comes with a 5-inch 1080p touchscreen, and the latter isn’t something a normal action cam can boast. The DuraForce Pro is shockproof, waterproof, drop-proof, and dust-proof. It’s IP68 certified for withstanding immersion of up to 2m for up to 30 minutes. It also complies to the Military Standard 810G for “protection against dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, blowing rain, low pressure, solar radiation, salt fog, humidity, immersion, temperature shock and icing/freezing rain”.

It’s powered by the Snapdragon 617 chipset which has a 1.5 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU. It has 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 3,240 mAh battery with support for both wireless charging and Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0. The 100+ dB dual front speakers ensure you hear everything even in noisy environments, while the fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button enhances security. The phone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

The Kyocera DuraForce Pro will launch in the US “in the coming months”. Pricing hasn’t been unveiled.